Page 2 of Queen of Anarchy (Dirty Broken Savages 2)

The sound of a car door slamming jolts me out of it for long enough to turn and see the four of them following me toward my apartment.

That pulls me back to the present even more, and I glare at all of them. “What the fuck are you doing?” I demand.

“You’re going to come stay with us again,” Gage says, dropping the declaration like he means for it to be obeyed. The same way he sounds when he’s issuing orders to the other guys, something he does often as the de facto leader of the group.

I bristle at that, irritation edging out the shock enough that I can face off with him. I fucking hate how bossy Gage is. I’ve lived my life for the last several years with no one telling me what to do, and now this fucker thinks he can boss me around whenever he gets a hair up his ass to do so.

I don’t need it, and I don’t want it. Adrenaline is still buzzing through me, and my heart thuds wildly against my ribs.

“That wasn’t the deal,” I snap. “I’m done with this shit.”

Gage just looks at me, jaw set in a firm line. The scar on his lip is noticeable in the ugly lights outside my building, and the gleam in his piercing green eyes is all simmering anger. Like always.

He stares me down, like he expects me to fold and give in, and I just glare back at him.

“It’s not safe,” he says.

“So?” I fire back. “I’m used to shit not being safe. Theworldisn’t safe. I learned that goddamn lesson a long time ago. I don’t need you four to babysit me because shit got weird. I’ll be fine.”

The muscle in his jaw jumps as he clenches his teeth harder, and I turn on my heel, trying to get inside the building and leave them out.

Knox moves faster than I’m used to from him, though. He grabs the door as soon as I open it, and we end up in a stupid struggle. I’m not weak, but he’s bigger and stronger than me, and grinning like a fucking idiot on top of it. His tattoos are barely visible beneath the sleek suit he wore to the gala, but little hints of ink peek out from beneath the sleeves and collar, giving him a dangerous looking edge, like a lion that someone tried and failed to tame.

Tugging at the door while he’s holding it is a waste of time, so I give it up and shove past him. As I stride into the building, the four of them muscle their way in after me.

“Get out,” I mutter through clenched teeth. “Breaking and entering is a fucking crime.”

“Aw, but you held the door open for us,” Knox says cheerfully. “That means you basically invited us in. Same as vampire rules.” He smiles his unhinged smile that I wish wasn’t so fucking sexy, and I just give him a flat look back.

Getting them out now that they’re in the building will be a struggle I don’t have the energy for, so I just head up to the third floor with them tailing me up the stairs.

As soon as I get the door to my place open, they’re in after me, looking out of place in the middle of what counts as the “living room” in my studio apartment. Dog, the fucking traitor, barks with excitement to see me, then practically loses his fucking mind when he sees the guys, running around in a circle before bounding over to them to sniff at their clothes and try to lick their hands.

My irritation just burns hotter that this fucking mutt seems to like the guys just as much as he likes me. Didtheyfucking feed him every day? I don’t think so. But he’s fawning over them like they’re the ones who’ve been taking care of him.

I stand there in the middle of my apartment, hands clenched into fists, as Gage and I face off again. His features always seem harder somehow than the other three men’s. They’re never as carefully blank as Priest’s, but there’s something forceful and harsh about them, as if he’s spent so much time clenching his jaw that it’s turned to stone.

The other three Kings stand behind him, backing him up. It’s just me on my side, but that’s fine. It’s always been just me.

“It’s not a discussion, River,” Gage says. His voice isn’t raised, but it still seems to crack through the air. “You’re coming.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I bite out. “I didn’t realize I was your fucking slave to order around whenever you feel like it. The deal was that I would stay with you until I killed Ivan. I don’t know if you missed it, but he’s fucking dead. So I don’t owe you shit anymore. It’s over.”

“It’s not over,” he hisses, taking a step forward. “You know that. Somebody dragged his body up out of the goddamn river and laid it out for everyone to see tonight. Don’t you realize what that means?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m not an idiot, Gage.”

“You’re acting like one. This isn’t going to go away, and we don’t know if they can link his death back to you. Tous. You should be worried about that just like we are.”

“I don’t give a shit,” I insist.

I hate that he’s right, though. Someone pulling Ivan up from the water and bringing him out to show a bunch of rich-ass people at one of the biggest social events in Detroit is probably very bad. It sure as fuck can’t be good. But I don’t want to acknowledge that truth.

“I killed him,” I say, sweeping my gaze over all four men as I speak. “I crossed the last name off of my list. It’s done.”

“Is it?” Gage narrows his eyes, stepping in even more. My hackles go up higher and higher the closer he gets, until my skin is prickling with it. “Then why the fuck didn’t his body stay in that river?”

“How the hell should I know?”

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